Mike McFadden on running against Al Franken and what type of senator he’d be

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"First of all, I believe in, as I mentioned before, an effective but limited government. That is my focus, that’s what I believe it means to be a Republican."

WASHINGTON — The Minnesota DFL likes to poke GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mike McFadden for launching his campaign against Sen. Al Franken the same day one of the biggest political stories of the year broke: May 29, when Rep. Michele Bachmann announced her retirement, burying most everything else that happened that week.

McFadden, a 48-year-old businessman, has been doing behind-the-scenes stuff since then, primarily raising money ($700,000 in June) and building his campaign team. The political rookie is taking his time building a formal campaign platform, as well: He wants education to be at its core, and he said he’s working with a team of experts on health care policy.

In his first formal interview since launching his campaign, McFadden told MinnPost where he stands on a handful of matters the Senate’s considered this year, what type of campaign he wants to run, and which senators he’d try to model himself after if he’s elected to the Senate next November.

Here’s our conversation (questions have been edited for clarity; answers, for brevity):

MinnPost: What do you plan on being your central message or platform during this campaign?

Mike McFadden: As a Republican, I believe in effective, but limited, government. And I think, as the Republican Party, we’ve done a very good job of focusing on the limited piece of it, but there is room for improvement with respect to effective. I want to see government work much better.

MP: Assuming you’d be able to pick, what committee assignments would you want, and how would that drive what you want to do in Washington?

MM: One assignment I clearly want is a seat on the Education Committee. I’ve been very involved with inner-city education. I sit on the board of [Cristo Rey Jesuit High School] just south of downtown Minneapolis, and the mission of our school is to educate financially disadvantaged students. … Last year, 78 percent of our graduating seniors went on to college. This year, 100 percent have been accepted into college. What that’s allowed me to see is, we can do better. We can achieve better results with a little bit more focus. I compare our results to similar results in the inner-city high schools, then I look at how much money we’ve spent on those schools. … So, I want to focus on allocating our dollars to areas that work. I want to measure and do better in eduation. We have to do it, the status quo is not an option.

MP: No Child Left Behind reform has been languishing in Congress for a while. Federal higher education policy comes up next year for renewal. Have you looked at any specific policy proposals in either of these areas?

MM: We jumped into the race a month ago, and we’ve been out raising money and building the team. Education is something I care deeply about and we’re going to build a detailed platform. I don’t believe the federal government should be dictating what second graders in Eden Prairie should be reading. …

I’d like to see some changes in simple things, such as, there is a program in Minnesota called “Minnesota Reading Corps.” It’s a federal program. … Their philosophy is, first you learn to read, then you read to learn. It’s really simple: By third grade, you need to learn to read at a third-grade level, or that student is significantly disadvantaged for the rest of their academic career. What happens is, in Minnesota, in 2011, 20 percent of our third graders didn’t read at a third-grade level. That’s not acceptable.

So I’m not advocating that we spend more dollars on education. We already spend a tremendous amount. We spend more than any other country in the world, on a per capita basis we spend more than anybody but Switzerland. The results are nowhere near the top, so we have to do better. I think there’s some simple solutions, and this is one of them. Why in Minnesota can’t we put a stake in the ground and say, five years from now, every third grader will read at a third grade level, unless there’s a learning disability?

MP: Every few years, Congress fights over the federal debt limit. Would you have any preconditions on whether or not you’d support raising the debt limit? What type of deficit reduction package would you support?

MM: I think it’s a very important issue, we’re looking at close to $17 trillion in debt now, it’s doubled since Senator Franken took office. It represents almost 80 percent of our GDP, and that’s problematic. As it comes to debt ceiling negotiations, I would be front and center in any part of those negotiations, and I think what needs to be measured is, on one hand, we need to provide some fiscal constraint in terms of government spending. We’ve been spending like a drunken sailor and we have to stop that. That’s got to be measured against what that does to our credit in the world market for borrowing money if we violate our debt covenants.

MP: Would you have supported the Senate immigration bill?

MM: First of all, the status quo is not acceptable, having 11 million illegal immigrants in this country is de facto amnesty, and that doesn’t work, so we need to find a solution. I applaud members of the Senate for trying to find that solution.

The solution needs to begin with securing the borders, it needs to stop further illegal immigration, so that’s my first principle. My second principle is: We need something that addresses the 21st century and our economic needs in this country. The fact that we’re educating PhDs in math and hard sciences and not allowing them to stay in this country when they’re needed, does not make economic sense. We need to address that.

I’m still reviewing the Senate bill. I look forward to seeing what comes out of the House.

MP: Would you have supported either the Senate or House farm bills?

MM: I’m still looking at both, but I think this is an example of the dysfunction that exists in Congress, and a lot of people are frustrated with this, including myself.

You had a bill passed by the Senate, it’s not perfect, but it was comprehensive. I’m concerned at the House bill that just got passed and stripped out the nutrition piece. … That does allow it to go to committee. So I’ll look forward to see what comes out of committee.

What I’m adamant about, though, is farmers deserve and need certainty so they can make decisions about what crops to grow and what livestock to raise. And when we see this continual exercise in Congress and their inability to get things done, whether it’s the farm bill, whether it’s the debt ceiling, whether it’s the budget, whether it’s student loans, and they kick the can down the road, and they argue about it a year from now. We need to show leadership on these issues and we need to make some decisions on these issues.

MP: Have you looked at all at the cuts to food stamps in the bills?

MM: I’m still reviewing that.

MP: How would you like to reform the student loan interest rate system?

MM: The House and President Obama and a group of bipartisan senators in the Senate all support a market-based plan that is tied to the 10-year Treasury bill. Yet what came out of the education committee in the Senate two days before the interest rate was due to rise was a one-year extension. … You need to have a long-term solution here. Student loans need to be tied to market rates.

MP: How would you address the Affordable Care Act?

MM: I have great concerns about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Even Democratic senators like Max Baucus have said it’s going to be a train wreck. I think some of those concerns have come to fruition, that’s why you’ve seen this one-year delay [for the employer mandate] that was just announced last week. I am as frustrated with my party, the Republican Party, as I am with the Democrats, in that we as Republicans have not come forward with a solution, an alternative solution to health care. …

What’s happened in the last week by delaying the employer mandate, I think it’s opened the debate again, that everything is back on the table and deserves a discussion, and I want to help lead in that discussion. I’m working with a team of experts to come forward with detailed [plans] on health care. It’s not enough just to say no to Obamacare. We need to provide an alternative. And we will, and we’re working on that.

MP: The Senate has taken votes to just repeal it straight up without a replacement on the other end. How would you have voted on that?

MM: I would have had to look at all the options on the table, but I would have been adamant that we need a solution. Repeal Obamacare, but here’s a solution. … The fact that there’s people with pre-existing conditions that can’t get access to health care, that have participated in the system, that have been good citizens, that’s wrong. We have to address more than just repeal.

MP: In April, the Senate voted down expanding background checks on gun purchases. Would you support that?

MM: I’m a strong believer in the Second Amendment, and the right to bear arms. It does concern me that someone that’s not allowed to buy a gun at Wal-Mart because they didn’t pass a background check is allowed to go and purchase one at a gun show. I would be open to looking at expanding background checks.

MP: Are you seeking the GOP endorsement and would you abide by that?

MM: We are absolutely seeking the endorsement, I would love to have the endorsement. I’m new to politics and I have not run for office before and I think it would be premature to take any options off the table at this point in time.

MP: You raised $700,000 in the first month of your campaign, but Senator Franken has $3 million on hand for this race. How do you plan to keep pace with him fundraising-wise, and are you willing to self-fund?

MM: We’re going to have to raise a lot of money to be competitive and we will. I think we’ve shown that: In 30 days we raised $700,000. We did that through a lot of hard work by a lot of people, and we’ll continue to raise money and we raised a lot of money, so we will be competitive and run a competitive race. I’m not in a position to self-fund. We need other people’s support and we’ll get that.

MP: How do you plan to gain the public recognition you’ll need to run a Senate race against Al Franken, especially since the Minnesota GOP’s financial situation might make it hard for the party to support campaigns in 2014?

MM: There are 5.3 million citizens in this state and I’m going to work hard to get out and meet a lot of them. I’m here for the next 18 months while he’s in Washington, I’m going to spend a lot of the time on the road around this great state of ours. So that’s one.

Two is, we will raise money. We’ve proven that we can do that. We’re not dependent on the party apparatus to get our message out. We will do it independent of that. … We’ll be in a position to be competitive with Al Franken. He has been in the Senate for four and a half years. He has a record, and we will talk about that.

MP: Are there any specific senators you would try to model yourself after or any certain components of the GOP that you would try to align yourself with (e.g. Tea Party-aligned, etc.)?

MM: I’ll let you put a label on me in terms of what I am. … First of all, I believe in, as I mentioned before, an effective but limited government. That is my focus, that’s what I believe it means to be a Republican. I want to get things done. To me, politics is the art of the possible and not the art of the pure.

I liked that you asked about senators. Ron Johnson, from Wisconsin, Bob Corker from Tennessee, both businessmen who jumped into politics and I think have been good at working to get things done. I like Tom Coburn out of Oklahoma. He’s got a focus on reducing government waste. There is tremendous waste in government, and I’ve worked in business to be very efficient, and I think we can be much more efficient with government and be better stewards of the money that our citizens are sending to Washington. I know we can.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry

Comments (15)

More specifics about which spending he wanted to end would have helped. In fact it was hard to find any specifics here. And our ability to borrow at very low interest in world markets has never been easier despite our would be candidates concerns.

Perhaps he should have a discussion with some of the students and parents at Christo Rey.

He might find out that some of the parents and students are illegally in the country. Would he have the courage to boot them out of the school and deport them?

He might find out that some of the parents and students need food stamps to have enough to eat. Would he have the courage to tell them they aren’t working hard enough and they need to make do with less?

Perhaps some of the parents and students have unmet medical needs that they struggle with. Would he tell them to have patience while he finds a way for the private sector to do what the wealthy never wanted to do?

Perhaps he then might sit down with the leadership of the Jesuits and ask them to explain their ideas of social justice as contrasted with that of the Republican party that he wants to represent.

At the end of that day, maybe he would sit and think that families that have their students in Christo Rey are self-selected and highly motivated by the importance of education and are willing to make the commitments and sacrifices necessary to be at that school.

Mr. McFadden has made some, more than usual, “moderate” Republican comments which are welcome from the typical Republican zealot positions. Moderates have not faired well in the party lately so time will tell if the Republicans are willing to accept moderation. Mr. McFadden recognizes you can’t just be against everything without offering a viable alternative. Should he win we won’t truly know what kind of a Republican he will really be until he checks in his political soul at the front door of the senate. Everyone thinks they are going to Washington to make changes, easier said than done once the party bosses have their way with you. Just maybe Mr. McFadden is some of the change Republican’s talk about. I’m not holding my breath. The Republican’s are not good following positive rhetoric with positive actions.

Wants young people to pay through the nose for college. Won’t comment on Food Stamps, because that apparently isn’t important enough to have an opinion on, or perhaps he opposes them. I’ll assume the latter. Makes a false comment on the deficit – it’s gone DOWN since Obama took office. It’s Bush who “Spent like a drunken sailor”. Obama’s drastically reduced government since he took office.

Claims we need to “repeal obamacare” and provides no solution – don’t hold your breath, he doesn’t have one. More “securing the borders” nonsense (the border has never been more secure than it is today) and makes references to high-end immigrants, but no mention of what to do with the majority who do not have Ph.D.s. Says he’s interested in education, but uses a private religious school, which picks and chooses it’s charity students, as his model. Spews total gibberish on the debt limit, giving him the wiggle room to join the rest of the GOP in holding the country hostage yet again.

He sounds slick. He sounds well- rehearsed. But he’s yet another paleo-conservative, out of touch with the average person, who will toe the party line on almost anything. This man is light years to the right of GHW Bush, Ronald Reagan, or Richard Nixon; he’s galaxies to the right of Arnie Carlson.

Yet, he’s the GOP’s best hope, simply because he can get through an interview without making a racist slur. Sad state of affairs in this country.

He evades and lacks specifics. He tries to sound like a moderate without having to actually commit to a moderate position. The Republicans seem to think you can just paste a smiley face over there anti-middle class anti-lower class positions and they’ll gain the voters they need. Seems like Mitt was all about the smiley face and that didn’t work too well for them. They are still in denial the same way an alcoholic is that can’t stay away from drink, but for them the addiction is to me-mine-gimme.

Yes, I agree that Bush did spend like a drunken sailor, but how can you honestly believe that deficits went DOWN under Obama? Making such statements only discredits your arguments.

Only the one time 800 billion 2008 bank bailout makes Bush’s ‘drunken sailor’ spending higher than any of Obama’s years. Look at the following facts from the U.S. Treasury government website and you’ll see on average Obama has more than doubled deficit spending:

Average Bush deficit, not counting overlap years = $530 bil
Average Obama deficit, not counting overlap year = $1,388 bil

Yes, because EVERYONE else believes in ineffective and unlimited government. This guy has no clue and didn’t appear to be able to actually answer a single question. He promises more of the same… he’s gonna get stomped.

Oh, I’m sure he can answer questions and make decisions–it’s just that he has learned to hide his hand….

(quote)

But Democrats also say they expect to be able to use McFadden’s business background against him: Lazard Middle Management describes itself as a firm that “provides [mergers and acquisitions] and strategic, restructuring, and public and private capital raising advisory services.”
In some cases, that involves helping steer clients through bankruptcy proceedings and layoffs — the kind of actions President Barack Obama successfully used as fodder for TV ads against Mitt Romney in 2012.

Published reports show that in at least three cases, Lazard Middle Management has been hired to advise companies that subsequently cut workers or moved jobs overseas. The firm reportedly worked with the company True Temper Sports as it closed a plant in Mississippi and entered a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. And it played an advisory role for the company L&P Plastics as it was sold to an investment group that subsequently closed two plants in the United States and stepped up production in Mexico
.
In a third instance, Lazard Middle Management helped the Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. navigate bankruptcy and debt restructuring, in the process shuttering mills in Michigan and Montana.

He’s going to get government to do things “better”. He will “measure” education so it is “better”. What is “better”? What are you going to measure and how will that make things “better’? And farmers need “certainty” so he will give them “certainty”. Since he can’t control the weather for farmer’s “certainty”is going to guarantee them an income?

It’s another clueless Republican who thinks the way to better education results is to simply *demand* them.

Yeah, yeah, he’s *on the board* of a private school that cherry-picks ‘disadvantaged’ students and dumps any student who doesn’t measure up back into the lap of the Minneapolis Public Schools. I’m not impressed.

These private industry barons all come to the table so sure that simply demanding results from subordinates is an effective methodology. In the real world of teaching kids with working parents, alcoholic parents, single parents, attendance problems, discipline problems, nutrition problems, mental health problems, etc., simply *demanding* better results is a pretty unlikely recipe for success, particularly when the schools can’t just drop students at will to pretty up their achievement percentages.

Incidentally, there is no such US Senate ‘Education Committee’, as Mr McFadden would know if he had a clue what he was talking about. The relevant committee is the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Minnesota already has a Senator on it. His name is Al Franken.

It seems to me that if you want to run for U.S. Senate, one might have examined some of the more front and center issues like health care, education, immigration, food stamps, tax policy, and federal spending and reached some conclusions about how you would address them. He might also be waiting for his Republican handlers to tell him what to think.

However, I suspect that Mr. McFadden knows exactly what he would do and is smart enough to know that if he provides Minnesota voters with any specifics his campaign will be washed up before it really starts. Given that he apparently fully supports the hard right Republican agenda his only hope is too fool the voters by saying nothing except being “open” to this or that, or willing to “review” anything or being opposed to “waste and inefficiency” and supporting the need to “make decisions”.

I am also curious to know who his “experts” are on education and health care policy. That information would have been useful to ascertain if he listening to anyone other that ALEC and the Koch Brothers.

You’d be well advised to have your own mechanic check it out completely before signing on the dotted line (although he’d probably try to tell you that the only thing wrong with any car you were interested in was that the hood latch didn’t work, to convince you not to even check that much out),…

and if you did have them checked out, you’d likely find that there wasn’t a vehicle on his lot that was worth buying, especially at the prices he was charging,…

and the finance plan he was trying to talk you into would have you paying triple for anything you DID buy, and included a very healthy kickback which went directly into his own pocket.

Meanwhile, if you raised the subject, he’d complain that taxes and government regulation were killing his business (just before he jumped into his very expensive car and headed for his house on the shore of Lake Minnetonka).

is this the best the republicans can offer? he says nothing about everything. in fact, he neglected to mention that is company, lazard middle management, had been hired to advise companies that ultimately laid off workers and moved jobs overseas. must of slipped his mind. senator al will kick his ass if they ever debate anything substantial. i can hardly wait to hear his plan to make the weather better. he’s got to believe it is the art of the possible, although impure. this is gonna be fun!